2015 is in the books and 2016 is off to a slow start. Putting it out there. Keeping it real.

So long 2015. You've been an interesting year.  I had the fewest amount of races in 2015, compared to any year since 2009 when I started running. This was because of that thing called "toe melanoma" I found in January and had surgery for in April (Stage I).
  Really need to think about the longevity of photos. I'll share what I learned: 

"Get a pedicure before having a procedure on your foot/toes, as people will look at that photo for years to come".  

I've learned a lot about Melanoma this year, including that people can get it in their fingernails!  If you have a black streak suddenly appear from your cuticle in your nail, get it checked out! 

Before the surgery, I did the Marine Corps 1775K run at the end of March, as a walk with a friend who was conquering breast cancer. We were guaranteed access to the Marine Corps Marathon in October for finishing this race.  My next race didn't happen until June-- a 5K prediction run where I ran my slowest 5K, I think ever--42 minutes something--but still it was a run, a first race after foot surgery and a race in which I was able to say, "I am coming back."  I didn't do another race until September when I decided I *really* should be doing a half in order to see where I'll be for the MCM in October.  I did the Quad Cities half (Moline Illinois) and finished the second half with an 80 year old gent in PI time 3:14. My slowest half ever, but considering the training this year and that it was my first half back, it was a great time.  I did two 5Ks back to back for breast cancer in October. I actually have never done a breast cancer 5k, as I always had prior commitments that first weekend in October when the local ones are held. I did one in my town for support to a friend in her mid 30s with Stage IV metastatic breast cancer. I did one the next day for so many I know who have had this cancer,  was in a city nearby, and had over 25,000 runners and walkers. I've never encountered a 5K with so many people, and so many who were "just" walkers out for the cause!  It was an amazing experience. My final race was the Marine Corps Marathon. It was my slowest marathon ever, but I improved my first half time from September, and ran a second half that was comparable to my other marathon second portions. My toes really started to hurt about mile 21. I was worried about my legs, and my feet in general getting me to the MCM finish line, but my toes were hurting so much. I started shuffle running at the end, knowing I had huge blisters under the nails.  I ended up losing both my big toe nail and index toe nail on both feet. I tried to save the nails by taking a long soak, sterilizing a pin and popping the blisters, but it didn't work.

Six.  6.  S-I-X races this year. Seems like a low number, but it was a tough year.

The middle of November is when I was thinking, "I need to get back to running, it's been two weeks since the marathon." I didn't and a couple days later I literally hit the gluten-mobile. . . . . pizza delivery driver. He ran the stop sign,  I hit his vehicle.  25 to 0 in seconds gave me a concussion, neck, mid back and low back pain, as well as pain in my right wrist because I went from 10/2 hand positions to 10/slamming on the horn.  I'm really thankful it was about 5pm and slightly sprinkling which meant that there were not any college students out walking to their cars on the street. I am amazed he didn't hit any pedestrians or cyclists.

One might not think the wrist would be much of an issue, but taking off a sports bra/top is painful. Using a mouse/laptop for more than 30 minutes is painful, makes the wrist make weird cracking/popping sounds. A highlight from the accident is the neck xrays which showed my neck was fine, no broken bones. However, from the jaw pain/neck issue I had in April/May/June, I had seen a chiropractor who did xrays.  That showed my neck was not curved as it should be. My xrays from November show my neck is curved as it should be :-)  My chiropractor is awesome and his cracking my C5 for the jaw issue really helped. . . .the car accident was causing issues with C7. As a result of the accident, I really didn't do much for the next 6 weeks.  I did fly for Thanksgiving, and had to hustle through the airport --in extreme pain--to make my connection. Popped Tylenol as soon as I got on the connecting flight (only med I can really take for pain because of my gut conditions).  I walked just over 4 miles on Thanksgiving day with one of my sisters, at a pace of about 2.2mph. While she could have walked faster, I really couldn't. Any faster and my lower back hurt from the twisting of my hips. Really, the *fun* part is asking people to slow down their walking. I really hate having to do this, especially with tore employees who show me where something is in the store. Thanks pizza delivery gluten man. :-( 

A few years ago a friend told me that she puts a dollar in a jar for every day she runs/exercises. I thought this was a fabulous idea. I did it last year with the proviso that I'd put a $1 coin in for any exercise I did in which I had to change clothes. So if I ran and then did yoga it was $1, but if I ran in the morning and biked or did yoga in the afternoon, then that was two changes of clothes and that meant two dollars into the jar.  I basically figured it was one long workout if it didn't involve a change of clothes.  This year I stuck with that same thought, but with the changes this year brought I didn't put as much in the jar as I had hoped.  $134 was in the jar on 31 December 2015.  I thought it was good, considering that many times I wasn't able to exercise. Except, I realized after the 4 weeks of "sit on the couch and do nothing" orders from the general surgeon that I could have probably laid down on the floor and done the Pilates 100 stomach exercises and such. At the time I had been struggling with "I'm sitting here and what can I do other than arm curls". 

Reward money jar

What did I do with the money?  From the 2014 reward jar I had a sterling silver ring made with an amethyst stone, which is The Mike's birthstone.  From the 2015 jar, I took in some pearls I had from The Mike's and my 2009 trip to Hawai'i, plus a couple freshwater pearls I had from which I had to restring a necklace. The jeweler made drop earrings with the three sets of pearls (two round whites, two round chocolate and the two white freshwater).  They're pretty. While they did cost more than the money jar had, I felt it was worth it to make something I will wear instead of having sit in a drawer :-) 

I'm putting it out there, and keeping it real. 

Most of the time in the past I haven't posted my times from workouts. I feel it's not about the times of a workout, but about the workout itself, as everyone is different and has different goals and times. I should only push myself against myself, and not push myself against someone who has a much faster pace and is unrealistic and unattainable for me. I think that pretty much just sets a person up to get knocked down. I want to be about building UP!  Therefore, I'm putting this out there:  

My workout for 1 January 2016. 

2 mile walk. 

2.7mph (I did walk a little slower at the start)

48 minutes. 

My lower back hurt, but not as much as I thought it would. 

 I had to change how I occasionally held onto the treadmill bar because of the wrist. 

I watched the Rose Bowl Parade at the time. 

The Mike was tinkering in the basement, so we kept each other company. 

I could put out there in the Quirky world that, "I walked today" or "I did two miles today". Instead, I'm putting it out there in the universe, to keep this recovery real, that I walked at a 24minute mile pace. ARGH. I use to run double that. I use to walk at 3.7mph (I could walk over 4mph in high school, but that was a while ago).  

This is about where I am NOW and I want, *need* to get back to where I was and more.

Afterwards I did some stretching. Open leg stretching side to side which pulled the lower back area. I did dolphin pose (modified downward dog on forearms) to protect the wrist which hurts. 

Happy new year 2016. Where the only resolution is a "simple" resolution to improve.

Here is to all of US for a better 2016!

Best Marathon I've run with my worst marathon time

Early this year I signed up for my "A" race of the year, the Detroit Free Press Marathon.  It was a bit of a long process on the computer, as one has to input the passport information. I've wanted to do this race since I've heard of it and decided to add a new state with a portion in another country, would be excellent.   The race, if you are unaware, starts in Detroit and runs a few miles to where runners cross the bridge to Canada, continues to run along the river street in Windsor, and then comes back to Detroit via the tunnel for many more miles in the US.  FUN!

Then the year progressed and my energy levels still weren't up to where they were in the spring of 2012.  Last fall my doc said I was "over training" and then mom died in December and then earlier this year my doc said my she couldn't find anything wrong and that I was just depressed over mom's passing. . . be that as it may, it doesn't explain why I had this last year before she passed, nor does it explain why I'm ccccold all the time (being cold is not a symptom of depression), as well as my legs/muscles feel like I've run ten miles after having just run three. 

One small worry was the passport. We renewed our passports last fall in preparation for The Mike's Tour Divide bike trip.  However, I just got the book, not the card.  When I started to register for this race, The Mike laughed and laughed, and said, "Guess you need the passport card after all". Right. Because I didn't want to run with my passport booklet in a ziploc baggie 'just in case' I had to show it at the border!   The local office said the photo from last year would work just fine, so I sent in my passport only to get it back about six weeks later saying the photo was too old and I needed to get redo the photo and send it back in.  Thankful that I was doing this early enough that there was time still to get the passport sent to me, and that it happened before the gov't shutdown!   

~~~TRAVEL~~~

So here I am with my training so-so and my desire to still run this race and The Mike and I set off after work and get as far as we can stay awake and find a hotel, or rather, try to find a hotel. We completely forgot about those leaf peepers when planning this trip!  

Peeping the leaves

  We had just crossed the time zone line and had to stop.  The third hotel at the interstate offramp had a few room vacancies and we were happy to score one--even one that served breakfast in the morning!   The next morning we were on our way through the sprinkles and rain; I was so thankful the race wasn't that day!  

It seemed like quite a long drive to Detroit due to the almost constant road construction.  As we neared Detroit, we saw these large 'creatures' in the distance. It was only as we got closer we realized it was a  set of bridges. In the meantime, we entertained ourselves with thinking they were creatures from War of the Worlds. This side view at the off ramp doesn't really do it justice. 

Interestate bridge on the way into Detroit. From the distance, 
when all you can see is a round top
and "legs", the bridges look a bit like the space creatures from War of the Worlds

Once into Detroit we had the scenic "ooh, this is nice" mixed with the eye sores.  We arrived at the hotel via navigation in the car. . . I'm sure there was a 'shorter' way to get there, but the navigation system likes to keep us on the interstate for as long as possible. 

Slight view of the Detroit Tigers baseball field from the hotel room
None of us in the group are sports people and didn't realize until that night's 
news that the Detroit Tigers were in the playoffs to make it to the World Series
(They lost to Boston) 

After heading to the Expo to pick up our packets and do some shopping.  I got a race glass and a new pair of CEP sleeves for the calves. . .and a reminder to always take cash to the expo. I saved $5 by paying cash instead of credit.  The sister got some new socks and GU.

Next, we headed back to the hotel, picked up The Mike and using Find Me Gluten Free app, we found Passport Pizza. It's a small place, corner store front with two tables, a couple actual pop machines and then the counter to order your pizzas. We were overwhelmed with toppings to put on the pizza and The Mike had a ton of selections for type of pizza as well.  The gluten free pizza was cooked/served on tins, ensuring it was GF, and the hubby's (gluten) Detroit pizza on thick crust.  Their webpage here.   

Passport Pizza on Woodward Avenue

As we left the pizza place, I realized the street looked slightly familiar. No, it wasn't from being on the street an hour before!  In reading up on Detroit on Wikipedia, I recognized the street/buildings from a photo. It's the last street in Detroit to lose its streetcars(1956). 

Beautiful old theater building on Woodward Avenue. 

Dinner the night before was from the hotel, as we didn't want to venture out with no specific destination.  Salmon with a cream sauce of cream, garlic and spinach.  Hubby had some left over pizza, so he just got dessert of pie and ice cream.

Prepping for the race the evening before,  I had my clothing laid out and  was spazzing about the temperatures. It was going to be colder than I had read when I packed. . .don't let the photo fool you--I had a long sleeve shirt and gloves as well. I decided to wear my new calf sleeves to help against the cold. 

I had packed my skort, tank, bra, long sleeve shirt, shoes, socks, mittens and visor. . .

I neglected to pack:  earband/headband, running knickers, common sense. 

As an inventive measure, I pulled the wide elastic band of my Road ID visor down over my ears to protect them from the chilly wind and ran with "loose hair" until later in the race when the sun and sweat was making it heavy and hot; then I pulled it into the ponytail.

~~~~RACE START~~~~

One of the things that surprised about Detroit was how many old buildings are just left in ruin.. . and a moment to remember the urban flight that afflicted so many large cities.  One of the first large buildings you see in downtown from the airport is an abandoned grand building 10, 11 stories tall, the abandoned Amtrak building.

Start of the race. So dark, so cold. brrr. 

38º at the start of the race!  Race Course Map  There wasn't much wind which was nice, but I had been reading weather reports of 45º for the start.  Sigh.  I didn't want to buy anything the day before at the expo to wear for 26.2 miles for the first time either.  

****FYI: Running when you're really cold and your body is trying to keep you warm and expel energy for your race is not good!**** 

just in case you needed the obvious stated!  

There we were at the start line with thousands of our closest running friends. We could see runners still arriving via the "People Mover" system.  The race information said that once the last corral of people left, no one else would be allowed to start late.  The environment started really PUMPING for us and the crew put on Eminem's song Lose Yourself!   Really got the blood pumping.  There was a count down "clock" for each corral as well. . .by clock I mean a large screen that would be at home in a movie theater, with digital count down for each specific corral.  

Then we were OFF and moving down the course.   I was feeling good and didn't start run/walking until the aid station in Canada to refill my bottles.  

As we neared the start of the border crossing we had to run in a bit of a circle up the roadway to the  checkpoint windows and then wind our way on the long bridge approach. As we passed through the checkpoint windows/gates that looked like individual toll booth stations there, leaning against one, was SANTA CLAUS!  He smiled, chuckled and waved when I yelled, "HI SANTA" while other people looked at me like I was nuts. . . later, when I mentioned this to my sister, she said, 'He DID look just like Santa and if he didn't want people to compare him, he shouldn't have been wearing a RED suit'.   The race course entertainment, Santa did have a long sleeve red shirt, I don't recall his pants color.   

Climbing the on ramp to the Ambassador Bridge, mile 2

Getting closer to the border crossing. There were scores of US border patrol at this point watching all racers and using the car speakers to inform us our race numbers had to be exposed, or else we would be pulled aside and searched. . .  

The bridge, the posts on either end say 'Ambassador Bridge'.

The bridge was still open for traffic. Semi drivers were honking at us (okay, many of us were doing the standard "arm honk" to encourage them). While we ran on one half of the bridge, there were"two lanes" open on the other side; however, only one lane was actually used by traffic with the second lane as a buffer between cars and racers. Felt bad for traffic, as the tunnel was closed until 10am and the bridge was one way traffic for them, but it was VERY safe running.

As we came down into Canada, the Border patrol there was a 180º from the US patrol, they were on their loud speaker welcoming us to Canada, high five-ing runners and mentioning that we got beer and donuts on the course because , 'hey, it's Canada' and "if you twist your ankle, no worries, you'll be covered under Canada healthcare, you'll just miss the race sitting in the medical office all day".  The sister heard a different message, but agreed, they were a HOOT, eh!

By the time we reached Canada, we were at mile 4.  We ran under the bridge approach and past an old cemetery where we turned to run along the river.   

Along the riverfront in Canada

Feeling good along the way, not much wind at this section, the riverside, miles 5/6.  

Heading into the  'underwater mile' zone  

Mile 7 to 8 I was a bit freaked out here and did a bit more 'turbo running' than I should have so early in the marathon.  As I was approaching the passport clearance area for us, there was a runner with a basic walking jacket on in beige and he had his hands clasped behind his back as if he was out for a stroll. I peaked behind me as I ran and he did have a number partially showing. I thought the border agent who was there might stop him. I was glancing between her and this runner guy and back and forth. I don't know if they did or not, but can say, "that's not normal runner behavior".  

As we entered the tunnel I was amazed at how HOT it was! I stripped off the long-sleeve shirt so it wouldn't get soaked and I concentrated on busting on through the underwater mile area.  I didn't even stop at the border crossing area, I had my cell phone out and just snapped a picture as I walked past.  I was still freaked out by the runner guy I saw on the Canada side.  My underwater mile was my fastest mile in a LONG time.  Seriously, even though it's downhill for the first part, I went through the tunnel at about 81/2 minutes/mile pace, something I rarely can accomplish!  I just wanted out of there and to be away from that creepy guy.  

Last actual race photo. . . the dividing line in the middle of the tunnel

Coming up out of the tunnel is hard mentally because you just keep climbing slowly and then you are turning and still cannot see any daylight.  I have no recollection of seeing a photographer there, but the photos on the website show there was one. 

I passed through a car path corral area as I exited the tunnel area. . .as I did, I notice the US Border agents talking to someone and (sorry, but she was) a blond woman trying to take a camera shot. The US Border kept saying NO, NO, NO. and the lady kept trying to take the picture until one agent started walking towards her and then she took off running.  Interesting race!     As I came up out of the tunnel area and into the street there were corrals holding back spectators from the runners and I heard my name announced. That was really AWESOME!  Hubby said he missed me here and I said I was scanning the gates for him, but never saw him either.

Next up was "Mexicantown" and it was sweet and nice to run through here. The wind seemed to be picking up some, but there were actually people out in their front yards cheering us on, as well as "no parking, Marathon Sunday" signs in both English and Spanish. There was a gorgeous old church there with multiple out buildings and it looked a bit in disrepair, but still gorgeous bones in the building.

About Mile 11 I stopped for the loo, which I haven't done since my second race, but I had to stop this time. Only three people ahead of me for the one portajohn and this guy comes up behind me and asks how long I've been waiting, because he doesn't want to lose much time in the race, but he has waited four minutes before. All I can think is, "really, cause I don't care how long I have to wait, I am not going on until I can use it".   I am FREEZING at this point and the skin exposed on the thighs is not happy with me, not pins/needles sensation, but just the realization that they are wicked cold, and realize that standing still, stretching is NOT helping me in the 'keep the body well' category.

We run along the course, make some turns and come to Corktown, which apparently is one of the oldest neighborhoods in Detroit and named for the Irish from County Cork (which I assumed when I was running past, but did confirm with that fabulous Wikipedia!) .  Lots of great signs along the course/bridge overpass area here, including the first of several "Smile if you're not wearing underwear" posters I saw in the race.  Obviously made by a spectator 'cause we all know the term is 'commando', right?  Then we had a long open /straight path for a few miles where the roadway opened up from being a two lane neighborhood street to a boulevard like course. Along this straight away from mile 14 to 16 or so we passed an amazing high school band/flag corps out there wearing mostly black uniforms and doing some "get down" moves while sounding their trumpets and trombones. Quite impressive and the dance/flag folks were great too. Really helped pep me up!   

Just before the turn past mile 16 was suppose to be a GU station. . .but, alas, as usual, all the GU was gone. I was really wanting it, as one of my GUs dropped from my waist band and I had repacked the band at the hotel and forgotten to put in the Cytomax gels.  The track runners did have bananas, so I took one of those for in a bit. 

We turned onto an awesome road that reminded me of the movie Home Alone and American Beauty scenes of the streets with wide streets, large old and tasteful/elegant homes.  It was interesting and sad to note that there would be four or ten fabulous houses with the next one being something that looked like it hadn't been touched in twenty or more years, and it was repeated.  This was the "Indian Village" neighborhood of Detroit. I didn't know what it was before running there, but afterwards found out it is one of the older neighborhoods and had homes owned by Ford, etc. 'back in the day'.  My running was still going so so here and I was run/walking and feeling good. The citizens came out with beer and polka music. An elderly man sat on a whimsically painted straight back chair cheering us on. Another man was out there with a squeaker horn? I'm not sure what they horn in his hand is called, but I said, 'You look like a Marx Brother' and he honked at me :-)   A few houses down a resident pointed to me and said, "you look like a beer person, come on over" and I said, "Gluten free" to which she replied, "we have Whiskey!"  oooh, I was sooo tempted, but didn't want to chance it with ten miles to go!  

Turning the corner and running into mile 18 we passed more gorgeous homes, There was one I wished knew the address of, it would have taken up a whole block in my city with the fence, distance to the garden shed, large house, etc.  Beautiful architecture here. . . As I ran down the street more residents were out, one had Jelly Beans and pretzels, another had (thankfully) M & Ms which I had to run back for (they're GF) and enjoyed with my banana for fuel treat.  

Up to this point my time was pretty decent for me.  Sadly, I started to drain here. Mile 19 and I was losing energy and pep. I didn't know how I was going to finish, but, by golly, I was going to do so!   We crossed MacArthur Bridge and headed onto the Belle Isle in the Detroit River. Gorgeous place, but my mind was trying to figure out how far we had to run on the island (it's only two miles, but one thing I should NOT do when running is try to do math!).

As I headed down the last stretch on the island there was a poor sole sitting on the side waiting for the medics to come, not sure what happened but I had reason to be thankful that wasn't me and I realized that the ankle/calf I hurt a few weeks prior to the race stumbling on a tree root wasn't hurting me. (maybe the compression sleeves were helping in that regard?).  This gave me a bit more pep in my stride, as did the family giving out Jolly Ranchers as I neared the bridge to exit the island.  

At mile 23 those around me and I realized they were starting to scale back the course. They had us running on the sidewalk for a bit, but I ran on the street unless cars were coming.  Mile 23 1/2 we ran along the river front and I was freezing as the wind came whipping across the waters and hitting my bare arms. I had tossed the long sleeve shirt at mile 14 as it was wet and I didn't want it tied around my waist, flapping and annoying me.  At this point I was screaming at myself for being a dummy and getting rid of it.  Ah well, someone can find the shirt and aim to do the Des Moines Red Flannel Run :-)   Even a course worker remarked "aren't you cold?"  

Knowing we only had 2.2 miles left helped some and I continued my run/walk method to get me to the finish line.  As we closed in on mile 25 I had to stop at a light. Just disgusted with myself that I was still out on the course at this point, but I didn't lose much more than maybe thirty seconds waiting for the light. Ohh, wait, I should say I lost a few minutes there, wink, wink.  

Then the last bit came on. I came upon mile 26, had to turn the corner and run to the finish line. As I came up the hill near just before the turn the spectators were inching out farther and farther into the roadway. I looked a guy right in the face and said, "I'm NOT moving over" and he scooted the three feet back to the curb.  

My Super Girl (with cape) finish photo for the family.

Runner finish area: OMG this was the BEST finish area/goodie line I've ever seen (Sorry Trekman!)  The sack I'm holding above has goods in it. I got a couple of chocolate milk (Yes, they had chocolate milk at this late in the race/finish area), a HUGE container of Hummus, as well as a couple smaller containers, a couple bags of "Food Should Taste Good"  chips, individual bags of carrots and sliced apples, mini Larabars and a few other things as well. This bag was seriously YUM for a gluten free runner!  

FINISHED:  Time, not happy with it, but since my body was off this year,  I was cold, running on a bad ankle/calf, and my knee just started hurting a bit towards the end, I was satisfied to take the time and getting out there and doing it!   It was my slowest time for my fourth marathon.  However, I felt the race itself was AWESOME. The other three marathons I've done were all Rock n Roll ones and this one had such a different vibe and was great. 

I loved the course, the spectators, the city, the architecture, the views, and even the spectator dude at the end who I had to tell to get out of my way on the course. Memories of the race! 

The old Detroit Free Press building.  

Alice in Wonderland chairs we spied as we walked back to the hotel.
In the background , to the right and behind of the pink chair,
one can barely spy the tops of giant cheese board pieces, about a foot tall each.

Special room key

The glory

Phew, that's a LOT of steps! 

After cleaning up, stretching some and snacking on those apples and chips, I decide I'm hungry and wanted food. The Mike said, 'Be sure to get something before 4pm" and Sis and I were like, 'why'.  Oh, right, the football game at the stadium nearby a few short blocks away!  We got the directions for Five Guys burgers in Greektown, and we managed to get inside just before the neighborhood is swarmed.  With our food in hand we head back to the hotel feeling like salmon swimming up stream for our lives. Lion fans are walking on the sidewalks so we take to walking on the street, after all, it's not like the cars are going to be able to go anywhere with all those pedestrians!  

The fabulous dinner/snack.

I laughed at the thought we were going to Five Guys.  I had never been there until Sis was coming back through North Dakota with me this June (from dropping The Mike off in Banff for his bike ride/race).  Then I had it at the airport in June in DC, and then again here.  So wonderful to have a burger and fries!  The fries are the only fried thing in the restaurant and they use peanut oil as well.  

Red race entry shirt, it has the course outline on the back. The shirt is very cozy and soft as well. It is now one of my favorite shirts (behind the Park to Park shirts--which, if you're interested from reading about that even in Runners World, in 2014 it will be a half marathon only).  The blue is my finisher shirt, the first "finisher" shirt I have managed to buy. Most events they're sold out by the time I finish. . . Strangely, in my mind, people were buying this shirt at the expo.  My glass is near the ribbon of the medal. The medal itself I thought was nicely done, it's heavy, and the ribbon is USA flag/maple leaf design.  

My Detroit goods.

We took sis to the airport to grab her flight, headed back to the hotel to pack up and relax before heading out early the next morning. 

We stopped for lunch in Battle Creek because I told hubby I was starving and going to take the next town exit, but he found a place for us in Battle Creek, MI.  

The entrance sign you see, once you've driven the few miles off the
interstate on Sojourner Truth roadway

It was so very nice to be able to order at a restaurant and have someone there understand Celiac/gluten free and have experience with it.Arcadia Ale Brew Pub in Battle Creek, MI. Menu  Our waitress hadn't worked there long and wasn't sure of all the things on the menu, but her child is celiac and so she understood the requirements!  She got the bartender, who was able to help me with the menu as her boyfriend is Celiac!  Great attention and we got there just before the lunch crowd, so perfect timing for additional attention from the staff.  

Gluten free tomato stew
Very tasty 

The Mike had a chili type soup that sounded fabulous, but they put some of the ale in the recipe. 

Brisket with mashed potatoes and broccoli.  (Gluten Free)

The Mike's "Cuban" sandwich, not gluten free.

While waiting for the food to be served we had a nice time watching the bottling/capping process in the brewery through the windows separating restaurant from processing rooms. 

Great adventure in Michigan, but afterwards on the loooong drive home, I had to question why I didn't just fly into Detroit!

Awesome pizza

A few weeks ago The Mike and I rode our Big Dummy bikes downtown and browsed the sidewalk sales, before heading to a movie and the grocery store.

We found this Stonewall Kitchen GF pizza crust at the herb store. The store has been there for a few years, but has "daytime" hours so I've never been. . . and we're usually out of town on the weekends. Last night I decided to this mix for dinner. I made a trip to the store especially for Hormel's Turkey Pepperoni, which The Mike had to take back and return since the pepperoni was green--there was a hole in the bag. I just grabbed one off the shelf. I suppose in the future I should check to ensure there is still an air in the bag.   

The directions were pretty basic as far as making a bread goes.  I added the yeast to warm water, along with the sugar for the yeast to feed upon. Then put all the ingredients in the mixer. I decided to try to the bread hook (which I haven't used since 2006) on the mixer and it worked divinely!   

The batter was a little sticky, but held together and was 'sturdy'.  I tossed it on some parchment paper and used the reserved 1T of flour mix to help coat the dough.  After pressing it into a circle, I used the rolling pin to finish the job. 

The box does say it makes one large or two smaller pizzas. I originally went with the "one large" and then realized it wouldn't fit on my Pampered chef pizza stone. I cut off about five inches of one side for a 'mini pizza'--although The Mike suggested using it for breadsticks.  I still cannot roll a pizza crust, from scratch, into a circle.  I worked at Pizza Hut in college, I should be able to do so!  

After rolling out,  one is suppose to let the dough rest for twenty minutes in order for the yeast to go to work.

We topped this with Dei Fratelli pizza sauce, it was the first time I had purchased pizza sauce (I usually make my own). Then added bacon, fresh onion, Hormel turkey pepperoni, Canadian bacon, black olives, large cherry tomatoes and fresh shredded cheese.  

Stonewall Kitchen pizza is a definite WIN.  It was crunchy on the bottom where it was on the pizza stone. The dough itself had a great flavor and texture to it.  We will make this again.  The price tag was a bit steep, but knowing that it was so good and made a HUGE pizza crust definitely will lean in the favor of parting with the money. (The website says $9.95, but we paid $7.95!).  

Contents:  Tapioca Starch, Sorghum Flour, Nonfat Dry Milk, Potato Starch, 

White Rice Flour, Corn Starch, Corn Flour, Xantam and 

Guar Gums, Salt, Yeast, Gelatin, Basil and Garlic. 

The pizza was great and Chebe won't be the only pizza mix in the house, but the Stonewall Kitchen brand does contain milk, so it won't be ideal for everyone's home.

As I said, after buying the mix we went to a movie (We're The Millers--hilarious, though lots of foul language) and the grocery store afterwards. We needed to get some Canola Oil mayo (one of the few soy-free brands on the market) as we were about out. 

A few weeks later, I went to get the new bottle of mayo out of the cupboard and didn't find it. I thought maybe it was in the fridge. No, not in there either. I went to The Mike, who was in the garage with the Big Dummy bikes and asked him about the mayo. No, he didn't recall putting it away. He checked the bags on both Big Dummys and came up empty.

It dawned on us that maybe it bumped out of the bike bags and is sitting some where along the nine mile trail system from the grocery store to our house. We learned our lesson and will make sure the grocery bags loops are tied and that we need to secure the loops in the storage area of the bike bags! 

Duluth "Up North"

The end of September took us to the "up North" country of Duluth, Minne-snow-ta.  We missed out on snow (they had some just a week later), but we did get to be leaf peepers with the beauty nature provides for us.  We stopped at  Milltown Cycles in Faribault, MN and got some tips for dining and things to experience in Duluth from Ben.  One of the first recommendations was At Sara's Table, or Chester Park Cafe and then he said, 'it goes by a third name, too'.  It did, had "Tahran's" on the outside of the building, but we found it with no problems. It is fairly cloes to Chester Park, though not across the street as one might expect from the name.  They offer gluten free bread for $1 more with the meal. 



This fabulous omelet is the Vegetarian, and I asked them to add ham to it as well.
Small zuccini, peppers and even julienned carrots!

After breakfast we decided to walk to Chester Park.  We got to the edge of the park and went back for the car and then drove through here. Parts are still a work in progress/recovery from the June 2012 devastating rains and fierce flood waters.

 

Beautiful tree we peeped at Chester Park.

 

Next we  drove north to Two Harbors along the old highway with a gorgeous view of Lake Superior. About two miles from Two Harbors I realized this is the road along which Grandma's Marathon is run! It was a very nice highway. We went to the old train depot and then to the lighthouse at the harbor. A very cold day with temperatures in the 40s with enough of a breeze off the lake to drop the temperatures for this non-'Up North' person!

 

Burl-ly trees near Lake Superior at Two Harbors lighthouse walking path.

After a day of cold and walking, we did more walking, down from the hotel to Pizza Luce.

Pizza Luce downtown Duluth

Dinner at Pizza Luce in downtown Duluth. They have a gluten free crust and about half their pizza offerings are GF. A very yumming evening. I had the Spanish Chicken pizza which their menu describes as "I’m a renegade on a Western front; where the dust never settles…I’m topped with mushrooms, smoked gouda, red onion, marinated chicken, toasted garlic and mozzarella cheese on red sauce. Some call me the Spanish Chicken, and others, well, they run…”"

The appetizer we ordered the sampler, spinache-artichoke dip, marinara, olive tapenade, and bruschetta. It was served with two hot gluten free rolls that reminded me of Schar's brand, but we didn't find out what brand they were.

Mike's race, Heck of the North, started at 8am on Saturday. It was a free race with a huge turnout!  This is a view of most of the racers, but I still couldn't get them all in my photo.  My photo perch was on a pile of woodchips. . .

Heck of the North start
 

After the race started, I talked with Bob whose son was racing and tests bikes for Salsa.  I need to find his blog. . . his dad said that Tim's writing was really great and even non-cyclists are reading it.  After an hour of great conversation, we parted ways and I headed back to the hotel to do my three mile run.  I was suppose to have done this on Friday, but we hiked and hiked and I decided to run on the day Mike would be racing too.  I am ecstatic to say it took me three hours to finish my run. Okay, okay. It only took me the time it should have to do the three miles. However, I had run to the pier and stopped a few times to take some photos, then hung out at the pier area and visited more areas, shopped a bit and then walked back to the hotel, at which time three hours had passed.

One of the many lighthouses at the Duluth Pier area.

I ran both sides of the canal area---fascinating history on the building of the canal. Perhaps you'll visit one day, see the museum and the sign of how the canal was finished.  It is amazing. . . or if you ask, I could answer.

Not at Grandma's restaurant near the aerial bridge, but near the shopping area is the finish for Grandma's .   One runner/cyclist told me that it's hard as you're running the highway because you see the bridge every five miles or so as the road twists and turns, but you still have a ways to go to the finish.

Does this count as a Grandma's finish?

After the race, we went to the Zeitgeist Arts Cafe for the after party event.  This was an amazing place we went to and, sadly, we had walked by it many times and didn't realize what it was exactly. The name Cafe isn't quite right. They have a full bar and a couple of dining areas, plus art and a theater attached as well.

The photo isn't too good, as I didn't want to use my flash.  I asked for a burger with no bun as I eat gluten free and the waitress says, "we have gluten free buns" ooooh, okay, give me some of that goodness I haven't eaten for a while!  Then she says that the fries are gluten free too. Double YUM!  I hadn't seen anything but fries on the menu that would contaminate the oil, but I did ask as well.  Mike had a Guyere ased mac and cheese.  For dessert, we shared a gluten free/flourless chocolate cake and whipped cream. It was good, but we told the waitress, who agreed with us, that it needed raspberries to help cut the decadent chocolate cake. It actually reminded me of the America's Test Kitchen raspberry chocolate torte recipe, minus the raspberry and almonds. I highly recommend this place!

The amazing GLUTEN FREE dinner at Zeitgeist Arts Cafe

Mike suggested watching a sunrise over the lake.  I agreed and with one night/one morning left in the Up North country, we decided to get up at FIVE in the morning and drive north to Split Rock Lighthouse.  On our drive we could see red highlighting the morning sky through clouds and thought we might end up missing the sunrise.  We drove up and up and up and watched the car thermometer drop drop drop to 35º and the window instantly fog over as we neared one of the two road tunnels along the route.  Definitely reminded me of being out West in August.

We got to Split Rock area, paid the park fee and drove down to a picnic/hiking area to watch the sun welcome us to the new day.  It took a long time for the sun to finally gain the horizon, but once it did, it reminded us of how quickly the sun rises or sets over the ocean. A blink and then two of the eye and it seemed the sun had completely come above the horizon, making it hard to look at the lake.

Sunrise over Lake Superior at Split Rock lighthouse (which is to the very left of the trees in photo).
 

Split Rock Lighthouse is amazing. It has beautiful hiking paths around the base of the rocks/cliffs and a 171 step staircase from the lake to the lighthouse grounds where they use to bring in supplies. 

We drove around trying to find a place for breakfast early on a Sunday morning. . .  . driving Southy, we ended up  at the Rustic Cafe in Castle Danger, MN area near, Gooseberry Falls State Park. Mike was smitten with the piping hot Rhubarb Coffee Cake.  I had an amazing omelet and hashbrowns to his breakfast skillet.  Afterwards, we went north the few miles to Goosberry Falls State Park. This is a beautiful water fall area, multiple falls areas. Not so bursting with water this dry drought year/time of year. However, there was a photo in the gift shop of the raging waters and swollen ravine areas that came with the June freak floods. From the photo, one could not even see where the ravine would have plummeted for the falls!

Lastly. . . a selling point in the gift shop:

Really? Beavers have hands????

I had heard my friend from Soroptimist talk about her home area as "Up North". . . I didn't realize it was a term like the UP/upper pennisula of Michigan until being up in the are "Up North" area of Minnesota and seeing all the items with those two words. 

Beautiful area of America.